President Barack Obama released a statement shortly after the vote praising the committee's "important step forward" in advancing U.S. security interests.

"I urge the full Senate to move forward quickly with a vote to approve this treaty. I encourage members on both sides of the aisle to give this agreement the fair hearing and bipartisan support that it deserves, and that has been given to past agreements of its kind," Obama said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates released a joint statement saying that the committee's vote "continues a decades-long tradition of senators from both parties providing advice and consent on arms control accords."

The treaty, signed in April by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, cuts the total number of nuclear weapons held by the United States and Russia by about a third. Specifically, it fixes a ceiling for each country of 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 deployed nuclear delivery vehicles.

The last START treaty expired in December.

Some top Senate Republicans have expressed skepticism about the accord, arguing that among other things, it complicates U.S. efforts to develop a missile defense system.

The treaty needs 67 votes in the Senate to be ratified. The Russian parliament is not expected to approve the accord until the full Senate approves it.